Posted: Tue Jun 22, 2004 9:40 am-
Perhaps it is just me, but I can't seem to log a poll result on this message site...
Anyway, no matter what your political leanings may be, when you see your country run by a single party for so many years without any real competition, and you see the amount of corruption that ensues... I think it is safe to say that the liberals must be "benched" for the time being. Hopefully they can regroup under the new leader as opposition, and re-structure themselves. Competition keeps everyone honest! Do we have any other alternative than the conservatives at this point in time? I think not. Much as the liberals don't want us to think so, our country has not gone to hell under previous conservative leadership. The future looks bright!
No, I am not a die-hard conservative, nor liberal. I think one needs to be flexible and take into consideration not just the party's ideals but what moral and intellectual aspects the individuals running for their respective parties are going to bring to policy making. Neither party owns the market on moral rectitude.
And one last word, I am not excluding the value that other political parties may bring to our country! Certainly, the existence of the NDP, has had a positive impact on policy making even though they have never held power- for example universal healthcare. And the Greens may well be the only party that may be able to bring constructive environmental policy to our country. Voting for parties that aren't typically popular will continue to be viewed by most as a "throw away" vote until our country puts into place electoral reform that allows a better representation of who Canadians want sitting in parliament.
Well, for us expats, we cannot vote unless we state we are returning within 4 years. And the way the snail mail international voting system works, it is too late at this point for those of us who want to vote and have not yet done so.
Regardless, the 28th should be very exciting for us!